IMI Uzi

   The Uzi submachine gun was designed by Uziel Gal, an Israel's army lieutenant, in 1949. This weapon is named in honor to it's designer. It was officially adopted in 1951 and was first introduced to Israel's army special forces in 1954. Two years later it became the standard issue submachine gun. It has been manufactured by the Israel Military Industries (IMI). It was phased out of frontline service with the IDF in the 1980s and currently this weapon is only in reserve.

   This submachine gun was so successful, that it had been adopted by more than 90 countries worldwide either for military use or law enforcement forces. It was license-produced in Belgium by FN Herstal (FN Uzi) and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Unlicensed copied have been produced in China (Model 320) and Croatia (ERO).

   It is an open bolt, blowback operated submachine gun, chambered for the 9 x 19 mm Para round. The Uzi SMG design possibly had been influenced by the Czechoslovakian Sa vz.23, which also had it's magazine housed in pistol grip.

   The Uzi SMG is simple in design and technology. It is made primarily from stamped sheet metal. Also it has relatively few mowing parts. This submachine gun can be easily field stripped for maintenance and repairs. Weapon was selected by Israel's army due to it's simplicity and ease of production.

   This submachine gun is fitted with manual safety switch, which is also a fire mode selector. There is additional automatic grip safety button. This submachine gun has a semi-auto and full-auto modes.

   Magazine is housed in the pistol handle. This feature makes weapon shorter and reloading becomes more intuitive. Weapon is fed from 25-, 32-, 40-, or 50-round box-shaped magazines.

   Early production models of this submachine gun have a detachable wooden stock. Later a collapsible metal stock has been introduced.

   In general it is a reliable weapon, however it can still jam in adverse conditions if not cleaned regularly. Downside of the Uzi is it's limited range and accuracy, especially in full-auto mode. These were the main reasons why this submachine gun was phased out of the IDF service.

Variants

   Uzi carbine, fitted with a longer barrel. It has been aimed mainly at civil customers;

   Mini Uzi, a compact model developed in 1982. It is fitted with a shorter barrel and a side-folded frame stock. This submachine gun is also compatible with smaller 20 round capacity magazines. It's range of effective fire is about 100 meters;

   Micro Uzi, even more compact model, developed in 1983. It has a side-folded frame stock, similar to that of the Mini Uzi. It uses smaller 20 round magazines as standard. Range of effective fire is about 30 meters;

   Uzi PRO a recent and redesigned version, intended primarily for Israel's special operations forces. This submachine gun was introduced in 2003. It evolved from the Micro Uzi, after the IMI engineers have gathered complaints, impressions and reports from the Micro Uzi users. This weapon has a reduced weight, as it uses polymers and lightweight titanium alloys. This submachine gun is fed from the Glock 17-round and 33-round magazines.

   Uzi pistol. Basically it is a scaled-down Micro Uzi without shoulder stock. It fires in semi-automatic mode only and has been aimed mainly at civilian market.